There are many health care professions, but the one that interested me the most is the OB-GYN nurse. OB-GYN nurses work in hospitals or private or public health clinics. In addition to providing care to pregnant women and their babies, these nurses will also provide care to women with hysterectomies, reproductive cancers, hormone disorders and other obstetrical and gynecological health problems. After a patient is admitted, an OB-GYN nurse obtains the patient’s health history and asks questions regarding the patient’s current health status.
The health history includes information on previous illnesses, diseases, surgeries and hospitalizations. The nurse should also determine whether there is a history of health problems in the family, such as cancer, heart disease or respiratory problems. Once the medical history is obtained, the OB-GYN nurse completes her assessment of the patient. She takes vital signs, listens to the heart and breath sounds, and observes the patient’s ears, eyes, nose, mouth and skin. One of the main duties of the OB-GYN nurse is to provide direct patient care.
The type of care will vary, depending on the nurse’s area of specialization. Nurses who work in medical clinics help doctors with gynecological exams, obtain specimens for laboratory tests and perform ultrasounds for expecting mothers. Nurses who work in a hospital will commonly assist with surgeries, such as hysterectomies. A nurse who specializes in obstetrics prepares an expectant mother for childbirth by finding the baby’s heart rate, monitoring contractions and assisting with the delivery.
Once the baby is delivered, the nurse assesses, weighs and measures the infant. An entry-level OB GYN nurse can expect to make around $54,000 per year during her first year on the job. A nurse who has between 10 and 20 years of experience has a median salary of $60,000 per year. The salary for more experienced nurses does not go much higher than this. The median salary for an OB GYN nurse who works in a hospital is about $54,000 per year.
To become a OB-GYN you will need your Bachelor of Science in Nursing is a four-year degree with coursework such as newborn care, labor and delivery and postpartum care, and supervised clinical rotations for ob/gyn nursing. Ob/gyn nurses may need special patient care skills such as lactation education, nutrition, postpartum health and newborn assessments. I think this profession suits me the best because I love being around pregnant woman and babies. This job is very interesting and I think I would make a fantastic OB-GYN nurse.
